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The piano music is playing in the background, the azaleas are blooming, and the sports world has shifted its attention to Augusta, Georgia. There is nothing in golf quite like the anticipation for the Masters, and the 2025 edition figures to be another sterling golf tournament taking place at one of the most pristine courses in the world.
As the best players from the Untied States and internationally all come together for the first time this year at Augusta National Golf Club, you may be wondering who you should be cheering to take home the green jacket. There's no shortage of great stories waiting to be written at the 2025 Masters, but we've narrowed the field down to nine we believe are particularly worth of following over the next week.
Watch all four rounds of the 2025 Masters with expanded coverage from CBS Sports. It starts Thursday with Masters Live as we follow the best in the world across Featured Groups, Amen Corner and holes 15 & 16. Watch those streams live across Paramount+, CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports App with extended broadcast coverage Saturday and Sunday from 12-2 p.m. on Paramount+ and 2-7 p.m. on CBS.
From rising stars to veterans trying to make a bit of history and everything in between, here are nine players to root for at the 89th Masters. Odds via BetMGM Sportsbook
1. Rory McIlroy (13-2): One could probably copy and paste the same paragraph from every Masters preview, but there is simply not a bigger potential story in golf than McIlroy winning the Masters and completing the career grand slam. That it's been a decade since his last major win would make it all the more incredible for him to finally join that group. Even more, coming into this year, it felt like golf fans were finally ready to have an honest conversation about the Rory hype train going into the Masters. Instead, all that got thrown out the window when he won at Pebble Beach and The Players. There's no doubt about it: We're ready to get hurt again.
2. Joaquín Niemann (28-1): The most interesting story beyond McIlroy is how Niemann will fare in this year's Masters. Folks in LIV Golf (namely Phil Mickelson) have been gassing him up as one of the game's elite -- on par with the Scottie Scheffler's and McIlroy's of the world. Because LIV events just don't carry a ton of weight with golf fans, the only chances to prove that are when we get all of the world's best together in the majors. This week at Augusta National will be his first chance to make a real statement about his place among golf's best, and it'll take a career-best finish for a player who's yet to notch a top 10 in a major. Seeing another young player emerge as a legitimate threat would be great for the game, and Niemann finally tapping into his full potential would make for a fun weekend at the Masters.
3. Jordan Spieth (30-1): The most human of the professional golfers returns to the place that is home to both his greatest triumph and greatest blunder. Rooting for Spieth is not for the faint of heart, but no one in professional golf will take you on a journey quite like Spieth over the course of one round (much less four days). If the trend of the last four years for Spieth in Augusta is followed again (T3, CUT, T4, CUT), we're in for a Sunday with him in contention. That can mean anything, and I'm ready to buy a ticket and take that ride wherever it goes.
4. Daniel Berger (100-1): One of the coolest stories in golf is the return of Berger. He was once a rising star in the sport, coming off back-to-back major top 10s to end 2021, when a back injury derailed his career. Berger was out of competition for 18 months after the 2022 US Open but has battled his way back inside the top 50 in the world rankings over the last year and a half. This will be just his second major appearance since that 2022 US Open (a T21 at the 2024 US Open), and it's hard not to root for him to continue his climb back up the rankings.
5. Min Woo Lee (40-1): Golf is perpetually in need of more engaging personalities on the golf course, and Lee has the chance to be an absolute star if he can tap his full potential as a player. We saw him stare down Scheffler in Houston on his way to a victory two weeks ago, and perhaps that breakthrough to the winner's circle can be the beginning of a star ascent for Lee. He's played well in Augusta with a pair of top 25s across three appearances, and we'll see if the Chef can cook something up and get in contention for the weekend.
6. Ludvig Åberg (18-1): It feels like a matter of time before Åberg becomes a major champion, and the 25-year-old Swede made quite the splash last year with his runner-up finish in his Masters (and major) debut. He's able to pile up birdies in bunches and last year kept his card impossibly clean in difficult conditions at Augusta National. On top of ability, his golf swing is as pure as it gets, and I'd argue he's the most aesthetically pleasing golfer to watch on Tour.
7. Jon Rahm (16-1): There was a time where people were legitimately debating whether the best player in the world was Rahm or Scheffler. That's how good Rahm was from 2021-23. Then he went to LIV in a shocking departure last year and seemed to have an internal crisis of faith, struggling mightily in last year's Masters and PGA Championship. His T7 at The Open was perhaps a signal that he hd gotten through his malaise and recaptured a bit of magic. Golf is at its best when the best players are all crowded around the top of the leaderboard, and at his peak, Rahm can be as good as anyone in the world. Seeing him back in the hunt for a second green jacket would be a welcome sight this weekend.
8. Russell Henley (50-1): Henley is a real interesting figure because he was once among the world's best amateurs and a potential rising star, but he did not fulfill his potential during his 20s. Instead, he's found a career renaissance in his mid-30s, most recently winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational against a loaded field. Considering Henley's candidacy at a similar age, the idea that someone can find a new peak in their 30s is an attractive proposition. As such, rooting for Henley comes out of a one-sided kinship to watching someone battle to get better and grab more from themselves outside the traditional "prime" years.
9. Collin Morikawa (14-1): It would be hard to be more consistently excellent than Morikawa has been over the last two years, and yet, he hasn't won a tournament since the Zozo Championship in 2023. He is perpetually in the mix but has fallen painfully short of capturing that elusive next win. On top of that, he's been an incredible major performer ever since he arrived on the scene, posting nine top 10s (including two wins) in 20 major starts. At the Masters, he has finished fifth, T10 and T3 in the last three years. All of that is to say, it's tough not to root for a guy who keeps playing really good golf and putting himself in the mix.
Who will win the Masters, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard and best bets, all from the model that's nailed 13 golf majors, including the past three Masters, and is up nearly $9,000 since June 2020.
